This invention relates to luggage.
It is known to mount castered wheels on the bottom wall of luggage and to provide a flexible strap for attachment to the end wall. The user pulls on the strap and the luggage rolls along the ground, thereby relieving the user of physically carrying heavily loaded luggage.
The arrangement of luggage and flexible strap works, but is not completely satisfactory. The flexible strap must be removed when the luggage is checked in at an airport or very likely the strap will be lost. A place must be found for the removed strap.
The flexible strap provides less than complete control of the luggage. If the castered wheels are stiff, they do not center properly and the luggage wanders, that is, it does not move in a straight line behind a user. The luggage will fall, particularly when walking fast or running. Luggage cannot turn corners very well, particularly if the casters are stiff.
The luggage must trail the user. The user cannot have the luggage alongside and inch it forward with the strap while standing in line at a ticket counter.
Other prior art consists of the following:
1) Luggage having a retracting flexible strap in an end wall.
2) Luggage having, on an end wall, a short, rigid, pivotally mounted pull handle cooperating with a pair of wheels on the opposite end of the luggage. This permits one end of the luggage to be lifted off the ground and pulled.
3) Luggage having a flat rigid handle that telescopes into the center of the side of hard sided luggage. Wheels mounted on the corner of the luggage directly below the handle permit the luggage to be tilted forward and pulled on the two wheels by the extended telescoping handle. The telescoping handle does not pivot.
4) A truck for moving articles from place to place, the truck having a platform mounted on two centrally located wheels, the platform having castered wheels at its forward and rearward ends and a rigid handle is provided to pull the truck.